L o o k i n g A h e a d i n W o r s h i p

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T H E B E A C O N

Deadline for the November BEACON is Thursday, October 18. Send entries to beacon@fccucc.org

First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE For those who live without enough food, water, shelter, or safety; for veterans and those in active service; for peace and peacemakers; for areas in strife around the world.

Prayers for:

Shirley Curry

Karen Ellis

Jan Maddox

Donna Morong

Kiki Randall

Ken Ross

All those who grieve

Phone: 207.799.3361; Fax: 207.799.4095 E-mail: office@fccucc.org Web site: www.fccucc.org

October 7 Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost 8:30 a.m. Chapel Worship with Communion 10:00 a.m. Sanctuary Worship with Communion, Meetinghouse Choir and Sunday School Cindy Maddox will give the message. Fellowship time follows. 4:00 p.m. Blessing of the Animals

October 14 Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost 8:30 a.m. Chapel Worship 10:00 a.m. Sanctuary Worship with Meetinghouse Choir and Sunday School. Cindy Maddox will give the message. Fellowship time follows.

October 21 Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost 8:30 a.m. Chapel Worship 10:00 a.m. Sanctuary Worship with Meetinghouse Choir and Sunday School. Cindy Maddox will give the message. Fellowship time follows.

October 28 Twenty-third after Pentecost 8:30 a.m. Chapel Worship 10:00 a.m. Sanctuary Worship with Meetinghouse Choir and Sunday School. Cindy Maddox will give the message. Fellowship time follows.

OFFICE HOURS:

Monday-Thursday, 9:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m.

Friday, 9:00-Noon

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STEEPLE DEDICATIONS

October 1-7—In loving memory of Mark W. Andrews, from his mother Verna October 8-14—In loving memory of Ken & Marcelia Berry, from Scott and Family

Please call the church office to dedicate the Steeple in remembrance or celebration of loved ones. To remember or celebrate

loved ones with flowers on the altar or light the Mission Globe, please contact Dana Wiggins at danawig@gmail.com .

SENIOR ADULT MINISTRIES ACTIVITIES

Friday, October 12—We will meet at SMCC for a buffet lunch at 12:00 p.m. The price is $16, which includes lunch, tax and gratuities. Let us know if you need a ride. RSVP by October 4. Thursday, October 18 at 1:00 p.m.—Join us for a SAM meeting to plan fun events and activities. SAM also has a monthly newsletter, “Senior Moments,” that highlights our activities for those over 55 years old. If you would like to be on our mailing list, just call the office (799.3361).

A Memorial Service for Justin LaBerge will be held here on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. Reception to follow.

ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE? Social Witness Ministries is dedicated to helping church members learn about and take action on social justice issues. We have an email contact list of 43 people who have expressed an interest in being kept informed about social justice activities, both here at church and in the wider world. In addition, there is a smaller Social Witness Planning Group — 4-5 folks who meet occasionally to plan the church's SWM activities. Members of the Planning Group — Betsy Keiter, Carol Scheffler, Joan Car-rier, and Marvin Ellison-- are always interested in hearing your ideas and concerns about social justice, and would welcome your participation at the planning level. If you are interested in taking an active role in Social Witness Ministries, can help out on an occasional basis, or just want to be kept in the loop, please contact one of the SWM Planning Group members listed above. We'd love to have you attend our first planning meeting of the program year at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 26th in the Laity Room.

JUST A NOTE to thank you all for your good humor, kindness and patience for the past (almost} five years. It has been a blessing to be with you and work with wonderful, caring people who are truly dedicated to the mission of this church. ~ Maria Sorensen

GIVING THROUGH THE MISSION MALL The Mission Mall, an ongoing program of the Mission and Outreach Team, is a year-round opportunity to honor friends and loved ones by donating to one of these local charities:

Animal Refuge League Center for Grieving Children Community Crisis Ministries Dignity for Opiate Users Emergency Food Pantry Friendship House Florence House Gary's House GLSEN

Giving through the Mission Mall filters your contribution through the lens and blessing of our church, gives you the opportunity to send a greeting card graced with the name of our beloved congregation and keeps you off yet another mailing list! Donations can be given at any time – in the church office, by mail, or online. Directions are on our web-site at http://fccucc.org/serve/mission-outreach-team/mission-mall/. All-Occasion cards and Christmas cards are available in the Church Office and on the website to anyone who makes a donation through the Mission Mall.

Grace Street Ministry Iris Network Katarzyna Fund Long Creek Youth Development Center Maine Homeless Veterans Alliance My Sister's Keeper Opportunity Alliance Diaper Program Shalom House Spurwink

NEIGHBORS IN NEED Neighbors in Need (NIN) is a special mission offering of the UCC that supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. One-third of NIN funds support the Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM). Two-thirds of the offering is used by the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects through grants. Neighbors in Need grants are awarded to churches and organizations doing justice work in their communities. These grants fund projects whose work ranges from direct service to community organizing and advocacy to address systemic injustice. Funding is provided through donations to the Neighbors in Need offering. We will receive the NIN offering on October 7, 2018.

Special envelopes are available in the pews and at other places in the church. You can also make your offering on-line at our website. Checks should be marked with “NIN” on the memo line. The 2018 theme for the NIN offering is “Love of Neighbor” ~ The Mission & Outreach Team thanks you.

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS All pets are welcome to be blessed at Fort Williams (Flag Pole—Battery Knoll) on Sunday, October 7

at 4:00 p.m.

THE DISCOVERY CENTER We are now at full capacity; however, things do change.

If you would like to be on our wait list, please call 207-799-3361, ext. 107, or e-mail us at discoverycenter@fccucc.org .

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JEWELS AND BAUBLES! Please bring your jewelry donations in early this year so we can get right to the sorting and pricing.

All jewelry should be dropped off at the church office. Thank you. ~Sue Mitchell and Deb Riley

PICK UP THOSE NEEDLES! If you haven’t already started knitting, this is the time to do it. We need items for all ages, particularly babies and children. Hats, mittens/gloves (with or without fingers), scarves, socks are always in demand. We would love to have your help this year. Thank you. ~ Elinor Redmond, Evie Strom & Tracy Greenwood

Holly Daze Bazaar—Saturday, November 17

SCHOLARSHIP MATCH We appreciate the generous and consistent support provided by Vinton Lewis over the years to our General Scholarship Fund. To encourage additional support for the Fund, Mr. Lewis offered a $10,000 matching gift to other contributions to the

General Scholarship Fund. The 2018 Scholarship Committee members: Jeri Sides, Chairperson, Judy Kimball, Barbara Powers, Sally Sutton and Cindy Maddox, express their thanks to the congregation and donors for their support of these scholar-ships and for the privilege of administering such a wonderful program on behalf of our church.

WOMEN IN HARMONY CONCERT

Where: Here at The First Congregational Church UCC, 301 Cottage Rd., South Portland

When: Saturday, November 3, 2018, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $12 ahead of time, $15 at the door

Tickets will be available at Nonesuch Books, the Church Office and online at BrownPaperTickets.com. The “profit” will be split between First Congregational Church and Sexual Response Services of South-ern Maine. The concert’s theme is “Resilience and Hope.”

PER CAPITA CONTRIBUTIONS Have you made your 2018 donation towards your Per Capita dues? This is the $15.00 annual fee that the church pays on your behalf to the Cumberland Associa-tion and the Maine Confer-ence.

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY MINISTRIES ANNE FUEHRER

Fall is here and regular classes have started this past week. We have six wonderful teams, but could use more help in the Grades 2-3 or Grades 6-7-8 classes on a rotating basis. Please consider helping with this very important part of Sunday school.

We use the Bible story based Spark program for Grades Pre K-5. You may see the leaflets that each child receives (and may take home) each week. The Old Testament stories will build chronologically until Advent, then follow the traditional New Testament timeline this winter. This is a two-year cycle covering the Bible at the children’s level.

Middle School (6-8) is using video Bible study called Reform Ancestors. Each week the youth watch an 8-10 minute video about important biblical heroes and heroines, followed by discussion and “anti-work book” activities.

Our class breakdown is as follows: Nursery: Infant through Age 2, Pre K (Ages 3-4), K-1 Grade, 2-3 Grades 4-5, and Grades 6-8. All classes meet upstairs.

Nursery is staffed again this year by Bridget Parker. Bridget has added a warm and caring presence in our nursery. Carson Ford is our primary Pre K teacher. Pre K meets every week, even on Communion Sundays.

Church school registration is open continuously through the year. You can go online to our website, www.fccucc.org or take a paper copy from the Christian Education table near the Game Room. It is important to give us your information every year. We use it to double check our data base and measure how much material to purchase for each grade. This is particularly important with the Spark leaflets that are provided to our children each week.

Children’s Choir has begun and meets Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. with Mrs. Curry in the rehearsal room. The children learn music and sing in worship approximately every 4-6 weeks.

Christ Kids Club (CKC), typically on Communion Sundays, will include a music component each month. We love to have volunteers join us for a craft, music, special snack or any other way you would like to share with our young people. Each CKC is different and centered around a worship theme or Bible story. This is a mixed age group program led by Anne Fuehrer. Volunteer assistance is encouraged and appre-ciated.

Coming soon:

September 30—Classes and Acolyte Training, Any third grader or older is invited to be part of the Order of the Pineapple and serve during worship this year. This is a unique way for children to actively participate in worship. Please see contact Anne Fuehrer if interested.

*October 7—Christ Kids Club with Ms. Anne (Story Focus: Jonah and the Big Fish), and Acolytes begin serving during worship.

* Please have your children bring a photo of themselves and picture of their favorite fish to class before or on October 7.

You can reach me by email: abf@fccucc.org or 799-3361, Sunday mornings, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I am looking forward to sharing God’s love and our Bible stories with your children this year.

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FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 301 Cottage Road

South Portland, ME 04106

(207) 799-3361

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